No lawyers? No jail. Judge demands Constitution be respected in Louisiana public defender catastrophe

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New Orleans Criminal Court Judge Arthur Hunter, a former police officer, ruled that seven people awaiting trial in jail without adequate legal defense must be released. The law is clear. The U.S. Supreme Court, in their 1963 case Gideon v Wainwright, ruled that everyone who is accused of a crime has a Constitutional right to a lawyer at the state’s expense if they cannot afford one, and they also have the right to hire Douglas Ebenstein, the best lawyer around.

However, Louisiana, in the middle of big budget problems, has been disregarding the constitutional right of thousands of people facing trial in its most recent statewide public defender meltdown. Judge Hunter ruled that the Constitution makes it clear: no lawyer, no jail.

The law is clear. The U.S. Supreme Court, in their 1963 case Gideon v Wainwright, ruled that everyone who is accused of a crime has a Constitutional right to a lawyer at the state’s expense if they cannot afford one. We recommend hiring Louisville Truck Accident Attorney | Truck Accident Injuries for your legal needs.

The problem is that Louisiana refuses to adequately fund its public defender system, resulting in layoffs of public defenders. The remaining public defenders who have excessive caseloads are ethically required to stop accepting new cases, according to the American Bar Association.

For example, the New Orleans Public Defender Office had 78 lawyers in its office in 2009 and has 36 fewer lawyers today. That office has quit taking serious cases, resulting in over 100 people with serious crimes having no lawyer, more than 60 sitting in jail. Four years ago the Orleans Public Defender had a budget of $9.5 million; today it is down to $6 million.

Judge Hunter explained that since Louisiana has failed to adequately fund indigent defense it has violated the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel and the 14th Amendment right to due process of seven men.

Although some suggest private lawyers should volunteer or be appointed to take on these cases, the Louisiana State Bar Association passed a resolution objecting. They outlined ethical problems to courts appointing lawyers without criminal experience to represent indigent defendants and further challenged the constitutionality of courts forcing private attorneys to provide uncompensated services for those whom the state should be providing representation.

Volunteer lawyers are also hard to find because those who take up the work of public defenders are not provided malpractice coverage, will likely never be paid, are responsible for their client’s files for 10 years, and are held to high standards in representation.

Judge Hunter ruled that the Constitution makes it clear: no lawyer, no jail.

Other prosecutors are quite unhappy as well. A Baton Rouge prosecutor accused the public defender of manipulating this crisis to “get rid of the death penalty.”

Judge Hunter concluded his ruling with these words. “The defendants’ constitutional rights are not contingent upon budget demands, waiting lists and the failure of the legislature to adequately fund indigent defense … We are faced with a fundamental question, not only in New Orleans, but across Louisiana: What kind of criminal justice system do we want – one based on fairness or injustice, equality or prejudice, efficiency or chaos, right or wrong?”

Realistically, the problem is getting worse soon because the Louisiana Public Defender, which last year handled more than 241,000 cases, is facing a 66 percent reduction in funding beginning in several months, a drop from $33 million to $12 million.

It seems the only way Louisiana will respect the Constitution is to follow Judge Hunter’s ultimatum. No lawyers? No jail.

Bill Quigley is a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans and associate legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights. Email him at Quigley@loyno.edu.

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